Almond Chicken Soup with Sweet Potato, Collards and Ginger

So I am TOTALLY loving the website Whole Living.  It is actually part of Martha Stewart's conglomerate but putting that aside (and it is a big aside for me - that woman makes me crazy!), this site is great.  It is all about eating fully, healthfully and eating for life.  There are sections that are Gluten Free (GF), which is great because we have a LOT of family that have Celiac and it is always nice to have good recipes that are friendly to them.  Besides all of their great recipe ideas, they have areas on physical fitness, emotional and spiritual balance and tips for everything from better sleep to clear skin (which for me automatically results from better eating, sleep and emotional balance!).  One of the many recipes I have been drooling over is the one for this soup.  Like I mentioned in my previous post, my goal is to get back to making soup for lunches.  For a long time, I would make a large pot of soup on Mondays and eat it all week long for lunch.  I got out of the habit recently but now I am back and have made 2 delicious soups in the past two weeks, including this one for Almond Chicken Soup.  It has lots of body-healthy components, yet still tastes hearty and filling and delicious.  It has juicy pieces of sweet potatoes and chicken, chunks of tender crisp collard greens and the punch from the lime at the end is exactly the right note to cut the richness of the almond butter.
Give it a try, it is delightful and kind to your waistline!

Almond Chicken Soup with Sweet Potato, Collards and Ginger
recipe by Whole Living


4-5 c chicken stock (or broth)
half an onion, chopped
garlic clove, minced
2 tsp olive oil
1.5-2 c sweet potato, peeled and cubed (bite size)
8 oz chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
1 c collard greens, sliced across into 1 inch slices (I cut the larger leaves in half as well before slicing)
1.5 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1/2 c almond butter
salt and pepper
a few lime wedges

In a large soup pot or dutch oven (my preference), heat oil over med.  Cook onion until soft and golden and add garlic, stirring 1 minute.  Add broth and bring to a boil ( I used between 4.5-5 cups broth_.  Add sweet potatoes and reduce heat to simmer.  Add chicken and allow to simmer and cook chicken, 20 minutes.  Spoon 1/2 c of the broth and stir into almond butter until smooth.  Set aside.  Add collards and ginger to the pot and simmer, 5-10 minutes until collards are tender.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir in almond paste mixture and stir until smooth and combined.  Let it sit about 5 minutes.  It will get all happy and yummy the ingredients will make friends with one another.  That is how you want them, trust me.  Ladle into bowls and squeeze each with a wedge of lime.  If you are going to serve the whole pot you can just squeeze a half a lime into the pot and serve it.  Whatever floats your boat.

Enjoy my friends.  Eat something healthy to go along with all of your January resolutions and feel good about yourself for doing it!